A New Life
by Aquaqua
Summary: In a human tribe, a baby girl was found. No one knows where she came from, except for one person, but he isn't talking. Twenty years later, Sakari leaves the tribe with three others to find out who she is.
1. Prologue

_Spring, a time for new life, a time for new hope…_

After a very long, very tiring two days, Sedna finally got to enjoy the blissful feeling of the absence of labor pains. She lay in a pile of skins and cradled a tiny infant girl in her arms, tiny tears trickling down her face from joy as she watched the child nurse. She knew that she would forever see the nursery hut as the place where the best thing ever happened to her.

"You look so beautiful," she murmured. "I wish your father would have been here to see you. You look just like him." She really did, too. The girl's father, Akkikiktok, had died in a mammoth hunt several moons ago, right after Sedna found out she was expecting a child.

"What should I name you?" Sedna wondered aloud, looking at the girl. "Should I name you Akkikiktok, after your brave father? No, too hard to say. Maybe Pakak? You are sure to get into everything, but I don't suppose you should be named after what you might do. Quvianuq is very fitting for you, but it, too, is long." She looked outside, where she saw the icicles hanging from the trees, dripping water.

"You were waited for impatiently, my child, like freed water during spring. That is what I will call you, child. Your name will be Imiq."

No sooner had she named the child did she hear a familiar voice calling, "Hello? Is anyone there? May I come in?" It was the voice of the medicine man, and Sedna's brother, Shesh.

"Come in, Shesh."

He walked through the flap, and looked fondly down at the child he had delivered mere hours ago. "Imiq is a beauty, isn't she?" Sedna breathed.

"She is indeed," Shesh muttered. But, then a pile of furs in his arms whimpered.

"What's that, Shesh? It can't be a child in this tribe; I was the last pregnant woman."

"That is because it isn't, Sedna. I found her in the forest. Probably abandoned from another tribe. I want you to raise her as your own. Say that she was your daughter's wombmate. But, you must say that she was born to you. Let no one know otherwise. Promise me that, Sedna."

After a long silence, broken only by the snuffling sounds of Imiq's suckling, Sedna muttered, "I promise, Shesh. How old is the child?"

"About six moons old, at most, Sedna. At least a newborn. She will be able to pass as Imiq's wombmate." He placed the bundle in her arms, and left the hut.

"Now, you, what should I name you, my new daughter?" Sedna asked the new child. She looked rather strange; she had pale, sickly skin, and rather than the black hair everyone else in the tribe wore on their heads, the girl's hair was a red of a sunset. She most certainly was from another tribe, though none that Sedna had ever heard of. She tried to play with the baby, by tapping the baby's nose. The girl's eyes shot open, and looked at her, with eyes the color of rotting leaves. She opened her mouth, and Sedna braced herself for the shock of its loud cry, but to her surprise, the baby began to laugh. It giggled merrily, and Sedna smiled; she had indeed found a name for her second daughter.

"I shall name you Sakari."

**Okay, the prologue for this story is done! Here are the meanings for words you may not know! BTW, all of the names for the tribe are in Inuit, because I wanted them to. Okay!**

**Sedna: Goddess of the sea and creatures**

**Akkikiktok: Brave**

**Moon: The equivalent of a month**

**Pakak: One who gets into things**

**Quivianuq: Joy**

**Freed water: Melted water**

**Imiq: Water**

**Shesh: brown bear**

**Wombmate: Twin, or triplet, or any sort of multiple birth**

**Sakari: Sweet**


	2. Chapter 1

**((Twenty years later))**

A snow-dusted forest. Sounds kind of like the place where something peaceful will happen, right? Something happy and Christmassy. Well, in this wood was a young, redheaded woman. And what was on her mind was far from peaceful.

She stalked in the snow, her deerskin moccasins making the smallest little crunches in the snow. A spear was held tightly in both hands, and her breath clouded out of her mouth like smoke. She was listening for something to come around, so she could help feed her tribe.

She held as still as she could, trying to hear an animal to kill. Finally, she heard it. The familiar sound of pawsteps. She craned her neck, trying to see what kind of meat she was going to shoot down. Her mouth watered as the golden fur caught her eye. Saber. It had been moons since she had eaten good saber meat.

She had raised the spear to throw, when suddenly, a voice shouted behind her. "Hey, Sakari!"

The saber raised its head, and it gazed at her with angry eyes. It bared its teeth, and Sakari had no choice but to run away to prevent becoming the saber's dinner.

After she had run a good distance away, she shouted at the voice, "IMIQ! You cost me that hunt!"

Her wombmate fell out of a tree; she had apparently been using the hunting maneuver that her mentor, Roshan, had taught her: taking the animal by surprise from a tree.

"Ow! Why, in the Spirits' name, did it have to be so cold out?" Imiq cried.

"Imiq, did you hear me? You cost me a hunt!"

"O-oh, really? I'm so sorry, Sakari! I'll make it up, I promise! Just tell me what you were hunting, and I'll get the very same for our food supply!"

"It was a saber, and it's alright. I'll catch something myself. I want to be able to deserve my meal, unlike _some people._" Sakari sighed, she need not continue. Imiq clearly understood what "some people" meant.

"Come on, let Taqqiq go. That was _seasons_ ago, Mother was still expecting us, and Taqqiq was only six winters old! It's not a big deal anymore!"

"It was against the Will of the Spirits," Sakari answered coolly. "Those mammoths were right in front of Taqqiq; he could have killed them, or at least injured one. But _no_, he HAD to freeze up and let them go, and only the calf was killed, and you KNOW the Will of the Spirits say that we cannot eat young animals; they must be adults! Remember, Father died because of his error." Both women went silent, remembering the stories of their brave father, who was blessed with the Spirit of Eagle.

"We should continue hunting," Imiq said after a while. "Remember, we need to deserve our meal, in your so _infinitely wise _words."

Sakari nodded, ignoring the sarcasm. "Of course. Let's go."

In the end, they managed to kill a deer each, along with a vulture, which Imiq carried over her shoulder. Sakari winced. She hated vulture meat; it smelled terrible.

_Shut up_, Sakari thought, _Meat is meat; it's the Spirits' blessing for us. I should be grateful._

She was shaken out of her thoughts at the sound of her village. Dogs barking, children laughing and squealing, mothers cooking, hunters exchanging weapons and meat. Sakari smiled. How she loved her tribe.

She went to the middle of the village, and saw one of the hunters, Imiq's mentor, Roshan, laughing and with his father, their chief, Runar, by the pile of animal carcasses the mothers were cooking. She and Imiq went to the pile, and placed their deer and vulture on the pile. Roshan smiled at them. "Nice catches, girls!"

"Thanks, Roshan!" Imiq smiled, winking. "To be honest, though," she laughed, "it was Sakari who did most of the hunting. I just shot the vulture. Isn't that right, Sakari?"

Sakari would've made a snarky comment on how Imiq was too gentle to hurt a bee, much less food-animal, but for some reason, when she looked at Roshan, she went tongue-tied. Her words wouldn't come out, all that would was, "I…I…" She felt the skin on her face begin to warm.

Fortunately, she was saved from having to answer the question by Runar's voice. "It doesn't matter much. Teamwork is a very good aspect on a hunt. I am glad you both learned this. It would do well to make you hunters soon."

The wombmates' eyebrows shot up. "No kidding!" Imiq exclaimed.

"Thank you so much, Chief," Sakari said more politely, bowing her head. "It is an honor to be said this."

"Think nothing of it, Sakari. You are my best friend's daughter, after all."

Not really knowing what to say next, she nodded. She turned to a mother, who handed her platter of salmon. Sakari knelt, and began to eat.

She felt a pair of eyes on her back. She turned around, and once she realized who was behind her, her heart jumped. _Roshan!_

"Hey, Sakari, you want to go hunting with me?" he asked. "Imiq's tired from her hunt with you, and the food's running low, even with you and your sister's contributions." He winked. "After you're finished eating, of course."

Sakari felt humiliated to notice that her mouth was full of fish at that point. She chewed for a few moments, and then swallowed. "That would be fine," she said. She passed a chunk of fish to the chief's son. "Would you like to share with me?"

He nodded, and said, "Sure. I haven't eaten all day."

The two sat together, chewing on the salmon. Eating gave Sakari the excuse to be silent, and to search her thoughts.

_Oh, Spirits!_ she cursed. _I _can't_ be falling for Roshan! I'm still an apprentice, Roshan's a hunter!_

_Not for a while,_ another part of her mind told her. _He's only two winters older than you are._

_So? Apprentices can't get married! They can't have children_! she thought.

_But, remember, Runar said that you might get your Spirit Blessing one of these days,_ that annoying little voice whispered in her head.

_Shut up!_ she hissed.

"What?" she heard Roshan say.

She looked up, and asked, "Wha-what?"

"I thought you said something, that's all," Roshan said. "You sure you're alright? You don't need to see Shesh, do you?"

"I'm fine! Look, the fish is finished! Why don't we go hunting now?" she babbled, jumping up, and placing the plate by the fresh-kill pile.

Roshan stared at her for a few heartbeats, and right when she thought she had scared him off, he said, "Okay. Let's go."

As she walked off with Roshan, Sakari thought, _Wow, Sakari, arguing with yourself. You had better stop doing that, or you'll _really_ have no chance at being with Roshan! N-Not that you like him, anyway!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

**Hey, guys; it's Aquaqua! Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but I'm going to get to that now.**

**I've lost interest in this story. I don't want to continue a story that I'm going to have to force myself to do. Sorry.**

**Anyway, don't expect any new updates from me. But, if anyone wants to continue my story, use my characters, or whatever, you have full permission to. Do whatever you want to. Go nuts. :)**

**Sincerely,**

**Aquaqua**


End file.
